The Red Sun Rising
by Tiviani
Summary: Discontinued until I get back into the grove for it...
1. Prologue

_**The Red Sun Rising**_.

Prologue

Footsteps echoed down the dark, damp passage that lead through the basement. Heavy rasping could be heard coming from a shadow moving slowly, struggling to move foreword, struggled to keep going. The low lighting hid the appearance of the shadow, effectively hiding them from the rest of the world. However one could tell that this…thing…was male because of the deep, heavy, rasping breaths that left his chest. One could also tell that this man was not in the best of health, a foul stench rolled off of him in waves, and he had an awkward gait when he walked.

As he reached the end of the hallway He placed his boney, pale hands on a large iron door. Seals have been placed on the heavy door to permit all entries for those who where not allowed to enter. The symbols of the seal appeared, at first it was just the outline of their shape, but seconds later they began to glow a light blue, and then to a green when it decided to grant the man entrance. Locks on the side of the door clicked as they unlocked to give him entry and with a heavy, metallic groan the door slowly swung open letting light pour into the stairwell that it guarded.

The broken, almost disfigured man stepped into the light, and his grotesque form was easy to see now. A disgusting grin formed over his features as he thought of his success. His teeth were brown from decay, lack of care, however most of them were missing. His skin was a translucent, sickly white color. It looked like someone tried to cover him with a thin sheet of wax and then stuck him into a extremely hot room. The hunched man's hair was in untidy, unkempt patches that were scattered around his scalp. It was thin and covered in dandruff; the paling black color was hardly distinguished.

A dirty white lab coat was draped over his hunched form. It stank of decay and other unnatural substances that he worked with daily. Red and brown smudges accompanied the foul smell, and it didn't take much imagination to figure out what the wet smudges were. The white was hardly noticeable, and the only way one could tell it was white at all was from the patches the grotesque liquid couldn't reach. Underneath the dirty garment were more unclean articles. His shirt was covered with more unknown substances, and one could barely tell the thing used to be green. His pants were a brown, slowly turning black. And to complete the dirty package a pair of black-rimed glasses sat upon his small nose, and the right lens was cracked down the middle with another chip trailing to the edge.

The man fumbled and stumbled through the large compound. His unsteady gait was determined to reach their goal. Doors and hallways lead in all different directions that lead out of the huge central room. He walked with confidence to his destination, showing no fear of getting lost. He stopped in front of a large, gold painted, wooden door. The golden paint was to give the large door the illusion of importance, however it was proof the creators of the large complex were either to lazy to build one or buy a door that would be appropriate.

He tapped on the door three times before taking a few steps back. The doors began to swing open slowly with a groan and a creak. Revealing its contents to the man before them, they showed an office. Bookshelves lined the walls, and both old and new books filled them. A large, red oak desk sat at the end of the room, centered with the door. A large swiveling chair, with red fabric faced the large window that shown the view of Amegakure.

"What to you want Rothrock?" A voice vibrated from behind the chair. It was highly masculine and sly. Showings the sings of a truly intelligent individual. Thunder boomed in the distance as another storm began to brew. Seconds later the room flashed white when a streak of lighting shown itself for a brief moment.

"I am done with the preparations, and we are waiting on or orders to enter the final stage." Rothrock hissed. "We are ahead of schedule, our client should be pleased."

"Good." The cruel grin was almost audible from his tone. "Then we will proceed. You have my orders, and I have mine. He wants it by the end of the week and we must supply it. But by the sounds of what you just told me we should have it done early."

"Hai, Nero-dono." Rothrock sneered. The filthy man looked down for a moment. One could say he was thinking. After a few seconds he looked back towards the large desk. "What do you want to name the project?" The chair swung around to reveal its master.

Nero. The leader of the science district. When someone needed something special, he was the one they turned to. He made anything requested and worked for anybody. He was a neutral party one could say. Though he worked for a high price. Nero had well-kept, raven black hair. His bangs fell just above his amber eyes. His hair was messy but not in a bad way, it made him look dangerous, almost animal like. He wore a black suit accompanied by a black under shirt. Nero was the opposite of the small man before him. His porcelain skin made him look almost breakable; a misconception that would cost someone his or her life.

His reputation preceded him however. Nero was only known to those brave enough to look and was only asked to work by those brave enough to ask. He was a very powerful man, however he was young. A trait most frowned upon. Even though he was young he had a great sense of loyalty. Once he was given a job he stuck to it to the end. He never stopped until he was done, even if the job was stressful, long and hard he only seen it as a challenge and proceeded to get more money for his success.

He raised an eyebrow at the small man standing before him. He learned to see past Rothrock's appearance and used him only for his genius. Rothrock was good at what he did, and many did not know the small man was only about twenty-five years old. His vulgar appearance was from his constant self-experiments and the dangerous chemicals the man was determined to use. "What gender did it turn out to be?"

Rothrock answered to no hesitation. "It's female."

Nero closed his eyes to think. He found it calming to enter the crevices of his mind to find the answer he sought. After a pause long enough to be dramatic, he look up and uttered a single word.

"Akuji."

Rothrock gave a disgusting grin, and preformed a polite bow. He turned and walked out of the room, closing the doors behind him.


	2. Chapter One, Look of an Angel

Disclaimer – I only own my OC's. Why would I own the Naruto characters? If I did the akatsuki would still be alive and Sakura would have died a long time ago .

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Chapter One – Look of an Angel

Akuji sat on the stool behind the counter of the small weapons shop. She was tending the store while her onii-san and boss was away. He had told her that he needed to tend to some important business and would be back soon. Though it didn't necessarily mean he'd be back in a timely fashion either, he always knew how to take his time.

Akuji put her head down on the flat surface of the wooden counter. She hated slow days but she rarely complained about them because the days are always slow. The small shop was in the middle of the Tundra of the Land of Snow. People rarely stopped by for their wares but it was the best they could do with the amount of money that they had. For they had set up the little store on the main road to give travelers a better chance to see them. However their works, per say, were more angled towards those that fight on a daily basis and do so for a living like the ninja and mercenaries.

A question that always flew across the young girls mind was that why would most people buy things like this? They looked like they would snap at any moment and most were ancient. Though her big brother was specialized in repairing the old things to a better condition than they were brought in, bought, or found. Those were our main selection for the rare collectors that come around every so often. We have another secret collection if you will. Weapons made for the ninjas and fighters were hidden and you had to ask specifically for them.

Sighing the young girl shifted on the stool. That small shift and shudder made a strand of her platinum white hair fall out of place. It hung right in front of her left eye and she playfully glared up at the stubborn strand. She attempted to blow it out of her face so she would not have to move, but it just fell back in a more annoying fashion. She sat up and used her gentle touch to place it behind her ear. It barely stuck into place. Her hair was shoulder length, and her bangs barely made the length where she could safely tuck it behind her ears and out of the way.

Akuji, for one who never met her before and caught her sleeping, could be mistaken for a life-sized doll. Her skin was a very pale white, giving her the appearance of one who was stuck inside for most of their natural life. Her platinum, white hair was ruffled a bit, like it was layered and intentionally irritated so the strand stuck out in random directions. Though it gave her a cute appeal, when she walked in the sun it gave off a sort of light metallic blue sheen. Her eyes were an intelligent, crystal blue that hid her innermost thoughts very, very well. They were the eyes of one who had lived their life to the fullest and for some unknown reason just gave up, after something had effected their way of thinking and nothing was the same. The crystal orbs made her look older than she really was which was a contrast to her body, which was almost childlike. Despite her appearance, she herself was only seventeen.

She shook her head in a drowsy pattern, and she blinked slowly. With a huff, she hopped off the stool and had begun heading into the back to make herself a cup of tea. Just as she was about the pass through the thin curtain separating the store from the back and her boss's personal quarters a cold breeze brush her ankles causing her to shiver. A soft ding accompanied the chill, telling Akuji that customers have entered the small shop. Deep in her mind she had wished they were actually here to look for wares rather than ask for a bathroom like the ones that came through. As she turned to look, she had seen that two men had walked through the entrance.

One was greatly taller than the other and Akuji could already tell that he was the more intelligent. His eyes were gazing around the small shop slowly, looking for something in particular. He also was wearing an outfit suited for the weather. Wearing a white hood and a black facemask he was the one that looked prepared for the storm brewing outside. The hood bore his headband on it, and craved in the metal was the sign of the hidden waterfall village. The scratch across it shown that he was a rogue, but that didn't bother her, she had people like that all the time come in. From under the mask she could tell that he had a brown tinted skin and his eyes were beautiful. Red where the white should and his iris was green with no pupil.

His partner was definitely not as observant as he was. The silver haired, albino man was walking slowly around, gazing with a bored expression at the weapons that lined the walls. His hair was just short of shoulder length and it looked as though he used over a half a bottle of hair gel to make it stick. He had beautiful magenta eyes, and his cheeks were a rosy color that stuck out from the rest of his face. Akuji had noticed that the man had no shirt on and thought him crazy. She had also noticed he looked like an angel, his gentle looking face had helped his thought. Akuji couldn't help but blush…

The only thing that the two had in common was the cloak draped across their shoulders. The main cloth was black, with embroidered red clouds. The other thing she noticed was the shorter man was staring in her direction with an impatient smirk plastered across his face. Then after she caught his eyes he growled and looked over to his partner.

"What the fuck are we doing here Kakuzu?" The albino man snapped in his velvet like voice. She blinked as the curse flowed out of his mouth so easily. She realized he may look like an angel but his language was certainly anything but angelic. "We shouldn't be stopping at this lame little store. We need to get going rather than stopping to look at this shit," he mumbled as he flicked a specialized kunai hanging on the wall. The force of his touch made the small knife sway back and forth a few times before hitting the ground with a clank. Akuji forced herself to let out a tiny smile as she slowly approached the two larger men. Her heart was beating rapidly and her breathing was becoming more and more shallow.

"Can I help you?" Akuji asked quietly when she arrived before them. She couldn't help but be intimidated by them. Her hands were folded neatly in front of her and she forced herself not to flinch as the two turned to her direction.

"Yeah, the fuck you can-" The silver haired man started but a silent glare from his partner caused him to go quiet. The larger man, apparently whose name was Kakuzu, then looked down at the small woman.

"You sell old and repaired weapons here correct?" His deep voice boomed as he towered over her. She looked around at the shelves and nodded slowly. "Then I'm assuming that you collect them from the area and buy them off of people, do you not?" She focused her gaze on him and again nodded slowly. "Then you wouldn't have happened to pick up a large, red, three bladed scythe have you?"

His partner, which was now staring daggers at the large man, finally seemed to catch on to what he was getting at. He took in a deep breath before he blew a gasket and managed to calm himself before speaking. For once he seemed to realize that scaring the young shop tender would not help them any. "Yeah, have you seen the damn thing?" He turned so that both the men were now bearing down on Akuji. She forced herself not to tremble. "Some mother fucker snuck up on us while we were sleeping. We almost had him but he managed to paralyze us and ran off with it."

Recognition flashed through Akuji's eyes for a moment when she recognized Daren-sama's technique. That must have been what he went out for, but something wasn't right. He should have been back by now. She blinked then shook her head, returning her gaze to the two men. "No, sir. I haven't seen anything like that." Akuji didn't notice but the larger man had seen her recognition and narrowed his multicolored eyes dangerously at her. Turning towards the door, he motioned at his partner.

"Come, Hidan." Kakuzu muttered darkly. "We will get no further standing here any longer. It's not here." He walked towards the door, waiting for his partner to follow.

With a small sigh of relief, the albino turned towards Kakuzu. "About fucking time. I'm not leaving this area until we find the fucking thing." Kakuzu rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. "Yeah, yeah you old shit, I'm coming." Hidan looked at Akuji one more time and smirked before following his partner. Another cool breeze rolled through the shop again followed closely by a small ding, and the two men disappeared into the snowy night.

Akuji stood frozen in place for a long while, staring at the door where the two men disappeared. Why did they have this effect on her? The two made her want to run and hide but yet, there was something more. Something hidden under the profane curses and sadistic smirk. She shook her head not liking the feeling the albino had on her. She let out a sigh and walked over to the fallen kunai. She reached down and picked it up, staring at the thing before placing it back where it belonged.

She blinked her eyes tiredly and walked over to the door and lipped over the 'now open' handmade, sign on the door and now it read, 'sorry closed." After she had done that, she slowly walked behind the counter and into the back room. She filled up a small teakettle and placed it on the small stove. She sat on a chair thinking to herself. Keeping her gaze on the wall she sat still and unmoving. Only when the teakettle started it's annoying whistling did she move, though only to glance up at it.

Sighing, she stood about twenty seconds later and poured the hot brew into a small cup when she heard the front door swing open with the annoying chime. A smile touched her face when she heard her onii-san has finally come home. Peeking out the doorway like a little kid waiting for their mother, she grinned when she seen the bundled up mesh of human standing before her.

Daren had returned, shouldering a rather large package with him. His cheeks were a rosy color, along with his nose. His blonde bangs hung over his right eye, hiding it completely from view. His bangs gave the impression his hair was quite long, however it was short in the back. His left eye was uncovered, proudly showing off its intelligent, bright green coloring. His chest was heaving from the cold run he had just come back from. Akuji shook her head she he took off the large jacket he was wearing. As he did that, he revealed a long sleeved fish net, partly covered by a black vest. His black pants matched the rest of his outfit perfectly. When he seen her, a playful grin finished off his appearance.

She smiled back at him looking his familiar appearance. One would say he would be sexy or hot, but to Akuji he was just her onii-san, her big brother. He had just reached the age of twenty a few months ago and she had been with him for thirteen of those years. She sometimes wondered why girls went so crazy over him since he wasn't seen as a sex interest to her.

Narrowing her crystal orbs at him, she huffed, crossing her arms. Daren looked at her with a confused expression then busted out in laughter. "I had no other choice, Ji-chan." He looked at her innocently. "Besides it was worth it." He said motioning at the package lying on the floor.

"It's no excuse." Akuji said as she walked back into the small kitchen. Since there was enough water for the both of them she poured another cup of tea. Picking the small cups up, she walked back out behind the counter. She put them down and slid one over towards him, sipping on the other cup of liquid. "Why didn't you wait until the blizzard was over? At least you would have not frozen yourself half to death."

"One, I hid it last night and wanted to grab it before the real owners found it." He grinned as he picked up the large package. A small dread began to grow in her chest. "Two, if I had waited, the blizzard would have hidden it under the snow it so kindly gave us. Then I would have never found it."

Akuji shook her head as he began to unwrap it slowly. "Yeah, yeah onii-san." She only regarded him as onii-san when they were alone, other wise it would have been Daren-sama. She hated calling him that, but he had black mailed her into it. He continued to unwrap the large package, and eventually its contents were revealed. As she thought Daren was leaning over a large, three bladed scythe. As he was leaning over it gave her a good view of his right eye and shuddered.

She had never liked the thing. Both the iris and the area around it was pitch black. The pupil was a bright red, silted like a cat's. It was a permanent side effect to over using his kekkai genkai too much. Akuji shook her head to get rid of the spine chilling feeling that the eye gave her.

When he stood back up to his full height, his hair returned to its position. He smiled gently at her as he walked over to the young woman. He stopped in front of her, ruffled her hair, and then sat down next to her. "Why don't you go home Ji-chan?"

"I should but I want to help you out." Akuji smiled as she reached up and fixed her hair. She grinned at him to try and deceive him, but her eyes gave her away since they were half closed. She almost looked drunk as she nodded at the weapon drowsily.

Daren smiled at her gently. "No my little Ji-chan." He cooed softly as he stood to his full height. He was at least a foot taller than the young woman, but that wasn't surprising considering she was only 5'2. "Go home and get some sleep. You've been here all day." Akuji nodded slowly in agreement. "Besides tomorrow I have a surprise for you."

Akuji nodded again in an almost robotic motion. She stood up drowsily and wobbled over to the coat rack. With a yawn she reached up, grabbed her winter cloak and threw it over her shoulders, putting the hood up. She turned and gave Daren a warm, loving smile before she opened the door letting the cold breeze roll through the shop. With a sigh she disappeared in the darkness.

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Alright there's my first chapter. I know it started out slow but its going to pick up soon. I hope you enjoyed it!

Please Review, it helpe me write faster.


	3. Chapter Two, Meaning of Life

**I am so sorry about the previous doc I had up. I was in a hurry and didn't go over it. But since I caught the flu I had time to go over and redo it, however it was just fixing the grammatical errors and what not. Though out of habit I added a little detail. Enjoy ^^**

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Chapter Two – Meaning of Life

Akuji awoke with a small moan as the morning light shown through her window and down onto her face. She sat up and blinked a few times to get used to the bright light. She rubbed her eyes, and then proceeded to stretch out her limbs until she heard the satisfying cracks, and pops that came from her bones. With a sigh she stood up and looked around the bland room she stayed in. It was a tanish color from the ceiling to the carpet that covered the floor. She had a simple brown dresser and a twin sized bed in the corner. Accompanying the bed a small, little bed sized table sat next to the bed, and it matched the dresser that sat in the corner. A black lamp with a tan shade sat atop the small table.

She cracked her neck as she moved on to the small bathroom attached to her bedroom. The walls and ceiling of the bathroom were a light, baby blue color. The other objects were white, like the toilet, sink and shower. A very calm and peaceful room, it never allowed her to have any bad thoughts since, to her, it was so playful. With a smile she slipped of her undergarments and slipped into the shower. She didn't get out until her hair smelled like her favorite scent, banana and coconut.

As she dried herself off she gazed at herself in the mirror. Her petite body frame, and pale skin. Her crystal blue eyes, and her platinum hair. Her soft child-like features and her women-like body. It all confused her, why did she have to look so different than anybody else? But not him. Her mind had wandered to the man from last night. He was like her as well, platinum hair, unusual magenta eyes. She shook the crazy thoughts from her head, why was she thinking about him? She would probably never see him again.

As she finished drying herself off, her hand brushed over a large, awkward looking scar. It ran from just above her right thigh to where there the leg meets the abdomen, and it stopped roughly to just about her other leg. As she looked at it she tried to remember how she obtained it but the thought never came to her. It was one of many mysteries about herself that she desperately wanted to solve. Though one thing that she concluded was that she must have gotten it before she met Daren, since anything before that time was fuzzy.

Another question itched at the back of her mind. Why hadn't it healed properly? Akuji had amazing self-healing abilities, her cells divided at almost five times the normal rate. She could also heal others just by applying some of her charka and touching them. However her healing abilities was about all she had in terms of jutsu. Daren has taken the liberty of training the young girl and found out several interesting tid bits about her. She had little to no Taijutsu skills; her body was just not built for it. Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu were also out of her reach because she never had any skills for them, and they always blew back into her face. Though she was perfect for Genjutsu, her strong, developed mind had allowed her to easily master most of the genjutsus thrown at her.

With a sigh Akuji walked out of her small bathroom with the towel wrapped around her small figure. She walked over to her dresser and began rooting through it. She picked out a few of the lucky garments that had managed to avoid being thrown onto the floor, and threw them onto her bed were she plopped down next to them. Reaching down into the small drawer she pulled out a tightly bound roll of medical wrap. She undid the clasp and began to wrap the fabric over her small frame. Starting just above her medium sized breasts she worked it down until it stopped just above her navel, were she then tucked it behind itself. Akuji then pulled out a long fishnet shirt from the small pile she had on her bed, and pulled the tight fitting garment onto her body. She finished off the ensemble with a light blue tank top, that hung right were the medical wrap stopped, and a pair of loose fitting, black pants.

With a smile she trotted out to her small little kitchen. It had the basic supplies, nothing too special. She swung the fridge door open and grabbed out a bright red apple, which she then proceeded to stick in-between her teeth as she walked to her front door. Her boots and winter cloak were lying on the floor were she had stripped them off the night before. Akuji was just too tired to care and she smiled at her own laziness.

Taking a bite out of the apple she reached down and pulled on her boots, tucking her pants leg deep inside the protective footwear. With her free hand she scooped the cloak up and threw it over her shoulders. The black fabric meshed nicely with her current outfit and it also kept her protected from the harsh tundra weather. Tying the cloak's strings together and flipping the hood over her head she grinned.

"I'll show up early and surprise onii-san." Akuji chimed as she munched on her apple. She truly didn't know what she would do without him. He gave her everything she had. The small house, money for her food, and once in awhile when he could spare it he would give her a little extra so she could get something nice for herself, but she regularly refused it. That's probably why her house was so bare, but she didn't think anything of it.

As much as she wanted too and as much as she bugged him, they didn't live together. Every time she would ask him why they couldn't he would always tell her that there were complications, and he didn't want to get her involved.

Akuji huffed at the thought but she didn't usually push the question. She hated bothering him, and did anything she had too in order to help him. Though today she felt like being a bother. She was absolutely determined to get him before he woke up, (he usually fell asleep at the shop instead of at his house) and this time she would succeed. Last time he was slouched over the counter pretending to be asleep as she approached him. He had jumped up and screamed out when she was close enough causing her to jump out of her skin. She grinned and ran through the door, throwing the apple core into a small trashcan that was sitting next to the door. She sprinted out, running as fast as she could.

Thoughts of how perfect this day was going to be kept flowing through her head as she blundered through the pure, white snow.

~~~~~~~~Earlier that night~~~~~~~~~

Kakuzu sat perched on a giant boulder, his multi-colored eyes narrowed as he scanned the tree line for any movement in the winter night. Hidan's footsteps could be seen walking into the dark forest, disappearing into the trees that surrounded the small clearing. Kakuzu had made the albino priest search for his weapon by himself, since it wasn't his, and it was his own fault for losing it. He was already tired of looking for the damn thing and personally he didn't give a flying fuck what happened to the weapon. But because of Hidan's constant nagging and bitching they were forced to stop.

As Kakuzu waited he contemplated on leaving the dumb ass several times, and make him head for the base on his own. However something in the back of his mind clicked and he felt a nagging suspicion that is he left the Jashinist would be even louder and more annoying than before. So with great resentment he decided it was better to wait for Hidan.

Eventually, a few minutes later, he pulled out a small (at least to him) wad of bills and began flipping through the green slips of paper. Racking through the money had made him concentrate on the numbers rather than his short and getting shorter temper, and the man who had made it boil at almost deadly levels. In a way it was his therapy, his own way of calming himself down. Though he could only do it when Hidan wasn't around, which was rare, since the man tempted his nerves in a way so obnoxious that nothing could calm him down. However, now that the miser was alone it helped a considerable amount.

With a sigh he counted through the pile a fifth time, and after he was certain the amount remained the same each time he shoved it back into his cloak. Another sigh escaped his lips as he tried to get comfortable leaning back on the rock he was perched upon. His eyes opened as his glare pierced through the night and onto the woods. The calm feeling he had obtained already began to vanish as his thoughts shifted to how long the man was taking.

'_If he doesn't arrive soon I'll-' _His violent thought was cut off by a fuzzy feeling he got in the back of his head. The slightly overwhelming feeling was followed closely by a single word that radiated off the walls of his mind. _"Report."_

The miser sighed as his leader's voice sounded through his head. Reporting to the man was not the first thing he wanted to do; however he had no choice. _"Hai Leader-sama." _His deep voice resonated. _"We had to take a small detour because Hidan _misplaced _his scythe and he refuses to leave without the damn thing." _

"_Detour?"_ Was all Pein said.

"_Yes detour. We are now deep within the Tundra's of the Land of Snow."_ Kakuzu spat back. His temper had reached its peak and it wasn't long before it would burst forth.

"Hmm…well you're not going to like this. I have heard from the man I hired a while ago that my package is ready. It can be picked up in the Land of Snow, and he said in the northern tundra's. Isn't that close to where you and Hidan are?" Kakuzu gritted his teeth and Pein sighed. He could almost feel the miser's temperament. "We are suppose to meet one of his subordinates to pick it up. Find this woman, my package. Get her by any means necessary. I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't as willing to hand her over as much as they say they are." Pein sent a mental image of the target to Kakuzu.

"_Let me guess. The only reason you are sending us on this wild goose chase is because Hidan and me are the closest?" _Kakuzu could almost feel the bastard grin._ "You should know better than to send us on a retrieval mission."_ Kakuzu hated to admit it but his temper was not a good trait for retrieval missions, and Hidan's brutal, bloody fighting techniques didn't help the mix.

"_Yes, I realize this. I would prefer to send Itachi and Kisame, however they are in the Land of Fire. They have their own mission to attend to. You know that the retrieval of the Jinchuriki are top priority." _

Growling Kakuzu asked. _"What are the conditions and limitations of the capture?" _

"_Alive. She needs to be kept alive and intact." _ Pein's voice grew stern. _"Do not kill her Kakuzu. She is very valuable, and I think out of all of us you'll be the one to appreciate her abilities the most."_

Kakuzu questioned what he meant but let it pass. Knowing Pein he'd find out what he meant in time. _"Yes, we will complete the mission." _

"_I will pass the information onto Hidan." _Pein stated firmly. _"Dismissed." _

Kakuzu stood and cracked his neck as the link between the two men was severed. Why now? He growled as he thought, and each thought in turn made him fume even more. He didn't want this; there was a bounty he had to complete, and other important business to attend too. Kakuzu didn't have the time to be wasting being Pein's mail boy, or searching for Hidan's fucking scythe. After all, time was money. His eyes narrowed as he disappeared into the darkness.

~~~~~Back to Akuji~~~~~

As the young girl ran, fun and happy thoughts came flying through her head. One was when tiny Akuji and little Daren were playing a game of kick ball. Then skip ahead a few years, to when they were sitting together at the ramen stand, giggling and poking each other. Move on to a small, tearing Akuji sitting on the ground holding a scuffed knee. She gave Daren such a pathetic look but he just looked down at her and smiled, offering his hand. He had told her to always get up no matter how much it hurt, and she had listened. That phrase kept her going when she was hurt and sad. Back to teenager Akuji, she was now beginning to tear but she caught herself and shook her head to get rid of the sentimental feelings that were about to swallow her.

When she got her wits back, she noticed that she was over half way there. She was making good time. The sun was barely up, and that was an almost guarantee that Daren was past out over the counter snoring loudly. She giggled at the thought. Oh, how she couldn't wait to put a big handful of snow down his shirt. He hated when she did that. Daren hated the snow and the cold, which made her wonder why he had set up his shop in the middle of the tundra in the first place. But as most of the questions that poked at her mind she shrugged it off and blew it out of her mind.

She began to hum a cheery little tune to help accompany her chipper attitude. Akuji hopped along to her destination with an upbeat pattern, and everything was amusing the young woman at the moment. She was just in one of those moods. But as cheery as her humming was it was no match for the patch of ice that was hiding under the fluffy layer of snow, causing her foot to slide out from underneath her body. She growled playfully, and began to laugh at herself. She was such a klutz, and she wondered whether she was always one. She tried so hard to remember but she just couldn't.

Suddenly a sharp pain shot through her head. She let out a small scream and held her head. Akuji's body automatically curled into a ball, and she lay there, shaking. But not from the cold. No, from the pain. It hurt so much, and she could barely take it. Just as she thought her head was going to rip apart from the seems, she blacked out.

-Later-

Blinking her eyes open slowly, Akuji shivered. Her body was cold and stiff from lying in the snow for so long. With unsteady movements she stood and began to brush the snow off of her body. The wind's cold chill blew by her, causing her to shiver harder. Her clothes were damp from the snow, and the wind was even harsher. Rubbing her arms, her teeth began to chatter. Gazing up at the sky she gasped. It was no longer it's safe, playful, baby blue color, but a deadly and unforgiving gray. The clouds were now merged with the sky, and there was no telling them apart.

Her perfect day seemed so bleak and dark now that the sky was no longer willing to show the puffy, white clouds that she made different, random shapes from. She darted forward; her balance was now off because her arms were still wrapped around herself. However after she almost fell over several times she began to pump her arms, matching the rhythm of her legs. Her eyes were focused on the path and her lungs began to burn with every cold breath of air she inhaled.

Daren was probably sitting at the counter, tapping his fingers on the wood, and staring intently on the door. Akuji remembered the last time she was late and shuddered. He had made her clean off everything in the store. She was never late again.

As she ran her body forgot the feeling of being cold. It warmed with the friction of her arms and legs, making her propel even faster through the snow. As she moved the winds began to pound against her with more force, and they appeared more periodically. With a small huff, a smile touched her lips. She was just upon the hill that the little shop sat upon. Akuji could also see the small outcropping of trees that rested behind the shop. As she gazed forward her concentration was hindered and she fell with a plop into the snow. Quickly getting up she propelled foreword, shivering again. An extremely strong gust of wind almost knocked her off her feet but she covered her face and dug her feet into the ground. When the gust was done she shook her head as she shivered again.

When she lowered her arms she gasped at the sight she saw.

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**Yay! Chapter two is done and onto chapter three. Please review, it makes me feel all warm inside.**


	4. Chapter Three, Frozen in Time

**Chapter Three is now up though I shouldn't since I only got one review *cough cough* but thanks to Dragonball-Gal I'm putting up the next one. Enjoy my weirdness. And no a sixteen year old female girl living in the United States does not own naruto. God are you people crazy? Lol**

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Chapter Three – Frozen in Time

Hidan's eerie laugh sounded in the small wooded clearing. He sat upon a large boulder, a smirk played across his face, and his magenta eyes were shining with a insane glisten. One of his legs was stretched out before him, and his other was bent up at the knee with one of his arms relaxingly sitting upon it. His other arm was occupied with spinning his scythe around in circles; the hilt was making a little hole that got bigger every time it whirled around. "I have to admit the blonde fuck put up an amusing fight!" He chuckled.

"Hmmm." Was all Kakuzu mused towards the comment. "We need to find the girl."

Hidan huffed and grabbed the scythe in mid spin. With a glare at Kakuzu he wiped off his cheek, and looked at his hand afterwards. A smile played at his lips as he then looked down at himself. He was covered in blood and his pale skin was hardly distinguishable, along with his hair. Hidan blinked as his gaze caught sight of a drop of blood that was slowly making it's way down the top blade. He waited with a rare patience as it stopped at the tip and shook a little, before it finally fell to the ground; landing to meet with the other drops that had also made their way to the dirt.

Hidan smirked at the little puddle, and then turned his smirking glare at Kakuzu. "No fucking shit." Hidan spat with his usual zeal. "But she wasn't there, now was she?"

"You don't think I don't know that?" Kakuzu growled and turned so he was facing the albino priest. He was standing next to the boulder Hidan was sitting on, leaning against it until he turned to face Hidan.

"Heh, I was just checking you old bastard." Hidan smirked down at the miser from his post. Shaking his head he shrugged. "You must be getting forgetful in your old age. Hell, one would think I would be helping you out."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes dangerously at his silver haired partner. "Did you listen to Leader-sama when he gave the mission details?" Hidan looked at Kakuzu skeptically. "That's what I thought." Kakuzu pulled a piece of paper out from his pocket, and handed it to the younger man. "While you were retrieving your toy I made this out for you so I wouldn't have to explain it to you. You can read can't you?"

Hidan grabbed the paper and glared at Kakuzu. "Just checking." Kakuzu retorted. Hidan looked the paper over several times before raising his eyebrow.

"Dead and awake?" Hidan growled. "What the hell kind of name is that? Akuji is a male name, plus who would name a girl 'dead and awake'?" Hidan's rant caused Kakuzu to raise an eyebrow at the Jashinist.

"Why would you care? It's just a name, and plus she is nothing but different cells and microbes sealed together by strands of chakra." Kakuzu sighed. "She shouldn't exist. Now, let's go and fetch this concoction Leader-sama has us looking for."

Hidan continued to glare at the paper like it was the paper's fault for the name mix up. Kakuzu sighed and began to walk foreword. "C'mon lets go." He said as he stopped to look back at Hidan.

"Yeah, yeah. Fuck off. I'll be right there. There's no reason to hurry you dipshit." Something was bothering Hidan but it wasn't like he would tell Kakuzu about it. Hell, he'd never tell anybody about it. Why should he, besides it seemed that Kakuzu already picked up on his problem.

Why the hell did he care about the name? It nothing that he should be concerned about, especially since he never gave a flying fuck about anything anyways. Why did he care about it so much? There was no particular reason for it, it just bothered him. Hissing Hidan crumpled up the paper and threw it in the snow.

A smile touched Kakuzu's masked face as he noticed a small hint of pink touch Hidan's face. Though it was so small he doubted Hidan himself even noticed it. "I said let's go Hidan."

"And I said fuck off, you fucking bastard."

"Shut up and follow. If you speak one more time I will kill you." Kakuzu growled as he began walking again.

"Heh, as you could do shit to me you old fuck." Hidan taunted as he slid off of his perch and followed the miser.

~~~~To the protagonist! ~~~~

Akuji's eyes widened with shook as she took in the scene before her. Her shop, her second home, her place of comfort, was all but perfect. It was nothing like she left it last night. It was no longer standing, but lying in pieces, several hundred pieces. Wood was strewn everywhere, metal blades and all the different weapons lay bent and useless in the snow. Piping and wires accompanied the small plumes of smoke that rose from the broken wood; everything was everywhere. If one walked by they would see not a dignified little shop but a pile of rumble that was left to the elements so it could rot.

The girl fell to her knees as she noticed another thing wrong with this horrible nightmare. Blood was everywhere. It covered the boards and stained the snow. As she thought Daren must have been here, and she hoped to god that he was not still here. Because if he was…

She began to crawl foreword, slowly making her way into the rubble. Her eyes were still wide from the shock and her mouth was slightly parted to give way to an almost insane grin. Denial ran through her head. She had hoped that she was at the wrong outcropping. Hoped that this was the wrong building. Hoped that it wasn't blood. Hoped that Daren would come and rescue her from this hellish nightmare.

However, she quickly realized that this was not the case. Akuji stopped, frozen in place. Becoming a statue, her features frozen in time. Then uncontrollable trembles started to rack her body, and squeaks and cries began to swarm out of her mouth. Her eyes widened even more and her pupils dilated. Throwing her head to the sky she let out a scream of complete agony and unrelenting sobs quickly followed suit.

There lying still in the snow, as stiff as the ice itself laid Daren. His face was surprisingly peaceful and his eyes were closed. One would've thought him to be sleeping but the three huge gouges in his stomach told one otherwise. A small trickle of blood colored his chin and tried to continue down his neck however the brisk winds had frozen the crimson liquid. A two-inch pipe was intruding out of his body just below his rib cage, slightly towards the right. It also had the crimson paint bearing on its cold steel.

Akuji crawled foreword sobbing, tears streaking down her porcelain skin. Her lips were trembling and all the color was drained from her already pale complexion. And when she arrived to her destination she grew even paler. His wounds were almost too hard to bear for the young girl. Her hands flew to her mouth and she bent over. With a few gags and a cough she released the trivial bits of content her stomach was holding.

Her heavy breaths were coming out unsteadily as she gazed on the body. She reached a trembling hand towards the body and lightly touched the stiff hand. Akuji choked out a cry and moved closer as to comfort herself. She looked the wounds over and almost gagged again but through faith or luck it stayed down.

She slowly moved her hand over the wounds in his stomach. The girl wondered what kind of weapon would have made such a wound, but the thought quickly passed from her head when her eyes gazed over the pipe that was sticking from his abdomen. She leaned over and reached out towards the pipe, making the contact of metal to flesh. Akuji tried to remove the steel however it didn't move, didn't waver. She let go when she realized that it wasn't stabbed into him, but he was impaled on it.

Falling backwards, Akuji let out a small squeak and fell onto her behind. She sat up and looked at her hands and the blood that now covered them. Beginning to tremble she wrapped her arms around herself and cried. With an unclear mind her snapped back to its upright position and her movements became desperate.

Leaning over his body she ripped open his already torn shirt. With gasping breaths she put her hands on his wounds and began to pulse her chakra through him. The pulses were unsteady and hurried as she tried to heal the gaps in his waist. Huffing and rasping she hung her head when she noticed that they were not closing and she began to slow her attempts.

However, the sounds of a beat made her head shoot up. Somehow, someway she heard the noise over the howling winds, the desperate breaths coming from her chest. Her eyes widened as she seen his chest shudder quickly, up and down, in and out. He let out a gasp as she looked down at his waist.

The wounds were closing. Slowly, but they were closing. Akuji gave a choked smile and steadied her chakra, focusing more on healing him. His unsteady breathing was giving her hope, and she intended to use the spark that united in her chest.

After the holes were nothing but pink scabs she stopped healing and fell back into a more relaxed position, breathing heavily. However, this time it was more out of exhaustion than fear and dismay. With a small giggle she looked over at Daren.

"That was close wasn't it Onii-san?" She asked him with a light giggle, but a gasp came from her mouth when she seen the look of pain that was spread across his face. She cringed and put her hand on his cheek. "It'll be okay…" She tried to sound confident but…

With a cough Daren opened his eyes and looked up at her. Despite what has happened, and despite the pain he gave her the same smile he has been giving her all these years. Her heart jerked and a tear flew down her face. He lifted his head up, looked at the pipe and then cringed. "I guess it's as bad as it looks, eh?" Daren tried to giggle but all that came out was disheartening cough and a bit of blood.

"Shh." Was all the young woman could make out.

"Heh, Don-don't worry bout m-me." Daren shivered slightly, the sheen in his eyes was slowly dulling. "You ne-need to worry more abo-about yourself. They are com-coming for you."

Akuji's eyes widened as she looked down at him. She lay next to him and snuggled into his side, closing her own crystal blue orbs. "What are you talking about…" Akuji asked quietly.

"The men wh-who came here." Daren choked out. "They are after y-you. It's what they wanted…" Daren weakly lifted his hand and placed it on her head. He began to rub back and forth gently. His stiff movements reminded Akuji just how much trouble Daren was in. But the thought of all this being her fault hammered at the back of her mind.

"Hel-help me pull the piping out, onii-san. Then I ca-."

"No." Daren's response was quick to cut her off. "I-I cannot. I-I'm to weak…See? I told you that the snow was evil…" He tried to giggle but nothing came out but a pathetic wheeze. "You mu-must get to safety. Please, my little onee-chan…Remain safe…for me…for you're the only…One who…Matters…My baby, onee-chan…"

The metallic taste of blood filled Akuji's mouth as she bit down on her tongue to prevent herself from crying out. The hope she had built up in her chest had now winked down into nothing, as she heard nothing but the faint sound of Daren's beating heart. She grasped the tattered remains of his shirt with her hands as she snuggled into him.

Why now? Why him? Why couldn't they have taken her instead of him? He was all she lived for. Tears flowed freely down her face, but she kept her whimpers quiet because she had never liked to cry in front of him. She shut her eyes; she was tired of looking at the blank world in front of her. She hated herself. Her greatest skill, her triumph card, was absolutely useless. What had she brought him back from the depths for? Had it just to add more suffering to her heart? She wanted to shatter into a million pieces, just because the most important thing in her life was slipping away. Her onii-san, her pillar, her life was leaving her. And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

Daren lifted his head up weakly to give Akuji one last loving glance before he put his head back into the snow. His vision was blurry from the loss of blood and he couldn't move any of his muscles. Breathing was also getting impossible. He gritted his teeth and a small grinding noise was heard as his teeth mashed together. He coughed and opened his eyes to glance at the harsh, gray sky. Oh how he wished he could see the sun again, to feel the heat on his skin, instead of this bitter, remorseless cold.

He closed his eyes again, and with the last of his strength tightened the grip he had on Akuji. The storm rolled over them, not caring that a life was slipping away. Akuji lay, still as stone, silently sobbing and after a few minutes Daren let out a sudden shudder, blowing out the last of his breath in an unsteady rhythm. His heart skipped and he grew forever still.

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**Oh no, oh no. Daren's dead?!? Hehehe tune into my next chapter to find out what happens next!. Please send me those juicy reviews!**


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